A connected thread (Spider-Man X enby OC)

Chapter 2: A Chance Encounter

So, there we were, once again cleaning up a mess that 'The Amazing Spider-Man' was far too busy to handle. We get that he's just one guy, and this is Shocker we're talking about, but he could at least show up. Hell, we gave him a way to contact us that time the both of us were dealing with Chameleon, so it's not like he couldn't at least let us know if he was busy.

Whatever, all that matters is that Shocker is now standing between us and getting to school on time, so we just have to suck it up and get on with it. "Hey! Herman!" We yell out to him (Spidey once told me that he hates when people don't use his villain name, so I started to follow suit.) "What'cha got there bud? Wait, let us guess. Oh, got it, pixie dust right? Are we gonna have to call you Tink now?" We don't expect him to get the joke, but we were amused, and Shocker's just about smart enough to know we were insulting him. 

Now, due to some very inventive webbing use, we've managed to put Shocker into a corner. We were this close to decking him when suddenly, from seemingly nowhere, a thin strand of webbing latched on to Shocker and Spidey was launching in from the other end. Due to sheer luck, he managed to connect before we did, putting Shocker into a tightly knitted web-cocoon.

Now, I believe that you are thinking the same thing I was at that moment, it's been a while, but if I recall correctly, my thoughts read as 'that asshole just stole our KO' and every now and again I still think he did it on purpose.

"Herman, I think you've had a bit too much. You're seeing double" Spidey quips before turning to me. "Thanks for the assist Spider-Boy." We can't fully see it but we know he's smirking under his mask (Condescending prick.) "Arachnid, you dickweed." We grumble bluntly, making damn sure he knew he touched a nerve. "Whoa. clearly this spider's got fangs. Chill out Arachnid, I was just messing with you." He follows up with a slight chuckle, showcasing that borderline irresistible charm. If not for the fact that Peter might still be in our ballpark, we would definitely try our luck with the Spider. "Are you just here to gloat, or did you have a reason to interrupt my takedown? And it had better be good." We asked with a thinly veiled anger. "I was in the neighbourhood, and I honestly didn't see you were trailing him from the other end of the alleyway. I would've let you handle it, Spider's honour." He makes his stupid hand symbol and puts it across his chest at that last part, like some stupid kid, but it does make me smile. (And he will never, ever know that he did, I still have my tough-as-nails cynic rep to uphold after all.) 

"Right. We're leaving, Don't follow us." We start heading off towards school, arriving with about 10 minutes to spare. I sit down just as the bell for class starts, but Peter's not here yet. Which is weird since he's normally here early, maybe something held him up. I decide not to let it bother me, it's not like I was gonna make a move if he was here. Our teacher begins taking roll and I start to zone out, I was having a fantastic daydream until I was pulled out of it by hearing my deadname "Jacob... Jacob" I can hear him sigh from across the room, and I refuse to make eye contact, but I can feel him staring daggers at me. (This is one the assholes that refuses to use anyone's preferred name unless it's also their legal name.) I'm about to cave in and answer when I hear the door open and a voice says "Hitochi is sitting right there." I look up and see Peter was the one stood in the doorway. I start blushing since he looks right at me, but i'm able to mouth the words thank you before I look away. 

Peter goes to sit at his desk as the teacher lets out an even louder sigh of frustration "You're late, Parker." He grumbles. "I'm sorry, something came up and I had to take a longer route to school than normal, it won't happen again." He says with a slight smirk on his face, almost like there's some kinda joke that only he knows about. Despite that little incident, the rest of the day goes by as normal, but I do make a point of looking for Peter at the end of the day, so I ask to go to the toilet 5 minutes before my class ends so I can wait for him by his locker. as he walks over I see him talking with the school's resident hottie, Mary Jane Watson, and my heart sinks a tiny little bit. "Hey." I say as I wave over Peter. He turns to me, giving me his full attention. "I, uh... I just wanted to say thank you for this morning. Normally I just cave in that class so thanks for sticking up for me." I say a little sheepishly. "It's no problem. someone a little bit before I got to school reminded me of the importance of using someone's proper name, so I figured I'd pay it forward." He replied, again with that little smirk plastered over his face. What he said kinda makes me think about my encounter with Spidey earlier on, but I brush it aside, there's no way Peter would know about that anyway. "Okay. Well I'll see you around Peter." I say as I turn to leave, hearing him start up his conversation with MJ again. I decide that I can probably afford to spend a few hours at home before I go off doing Arachnid stuff, so that's what I do.